Forty-five questions from couples, answered in writing

Write to us on WhatsApp with your date and your guest count. Our reply is written and carries a cabin plan and a price. 50 percent down confirms the booking. Pay the rest 30 days before departure, or in cash or by card terminal on the departure day.

Refunds follow the notice you give: 50 percent for 60 days or more, 25 percent for 30 to 59 days, nothing under 30. Moving the date costs nothing with 30 days or more of notice, IDR 500,000 with 14 to 29 days, and under 14 days it counts as cancelling.

We provide another boat of the same or a higher class, with nothing added to the price. Or you can choose a full refund, paid within 2 days (2×24 hours) once the conditions are met. The offer reaches you in writing before anything changes, and the choice is yours.

Bookings are made with PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia, registered in Indonesia under NIB 1805260128363 and based in Labuan Bajo. Payments go to the company account named on your written invoice. No guest has reviewed Gandiva on this site yet, and we show no stars or invented quotes.

Yes. The standard terms stay the same: a 50% deposit confirms the date and the balance is due 30 days before departure, but you may also pay the balance in Labuan Bajo on the departure day, in cash or by card on the EDC machine. Card payment link 3%, PayPal 7.2%, EDC 3%; your issuing bank may add its own charges.

Arjuna has the balcony and the bathtub. Nakula and Sadewa are sea-view doubles on the upper deck. Bima is a double on the lower deck. Yudhistira, also on the lower deck, has one double bed and two single beds for two to four guests. All five have their own bathroom and air conditioning.

Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa are on the upper deck, with a sea view. Bima and Yudhistira are on the lower deck, and we do not describe them as sea-view rooms. If a window matters, say so before you choose.

Yes. All five cabins are air-conditioned and ensuite, with a chiller and a safe box, and the cabin showers have hot water. Nothing is shared.

Yudhistira, on the lower deck, has one double bed and two single beds, so it takes two to four guests. On the open trip the first two guests pay IDR 9,000,000 (≈ USD 552) each, and the third and fourth guest pay IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399) each. On a private charter every bed is yours to allocate, and we draw up the plan with you.

Local Wi-Fi is on board. The connection comes and goes, so plan no video call around it. For sockets and chargers in the cabins, ask us and you have a written answer before you sail.

Fly to Komodo Airport (LBJ), 2 to 3 km from town. Travellers connect through Bali, Jakarta or Surabaya. From Bali the flight takes between 1 h 10 min and 1 h 20 min. Those times are indicative, so check the airline for the day you travel.

On the last day Gandiva is back in Labuan Bajo at a time we confirm in writing, and the captain sets it by weather and tide. Book flights after 14:00 that day. On a private charter we can set the boarding and finish times around your flights.

Your fare covers the ride to the harbour, from the airport or from a hotel in Labuan Bajo. We confirm the pickup time in writing at booking, and on a private charter the boarding time can be set around your flight.

Yes. Arrive a day early and a delayed or cancelled flight can't cost you the sailing, and you board rested.

The hotels page lists places in Labuan Bajo. We do not print hotel rates on the site; ask us and we confirm a rate with the hotel for your dates. Hotel nights are not in the fare.

On the open trip, two guests in Arjuna pay 2 x IDR 11,500,000 (≈ USD 706) and two in Bima pay 2 x IDR 9,000,000 (≈ USD 552), for 3D2N. A private charter for one to four guests is IDR 100,000,000 (≈ USD 6,135) for the whole boat, which is IDR 50,000,000 (≈ USD 3,067) each for two of you. The park ticket is a separate line.

The price is per trip, by party size. Three days and two nights costs IDR 100,000,000 (≈ USD 6,135) for a party of 1 to 4, IDR 105,000,000 (≈ USD 6,442) for 5 to 8, and IDR 110,000,000 (≈ USD 6,748) for 9 to 12. The 2D1N starts at IDR 80,000,000 (≈ USD 4,908) and the 4D3N at IDR 120,000,000 (≈ USD 7,362). The guide and the documentation are extra.

The charter fare pays for your harbour transfer, the boat's crew and cruise director, three meals daily, coffee, tea and mineral water on tap, ensuite cabins with air conditioning, towels, life jackets and snorkelling gear. The fare does not cover park tickets, flights, hotels, alcoholic drinks or tips. On a private charter it also leaves out the guide and any photography or filming. The open trip adds the guide and the documentation.

Yes. Open trips are on sale from 1 March to 31 December 2027, on Mondays and Fridays; January and February are annual maintenance. Fares as of 3 November 2026: IDR 11,500,000 (≈ USD 706) in Arjuna, and IDR 100,000,000 (≈ USD 6,135) for the whole boat on a 3D2N private charter. We confirm your date in writing before any payment.

KEXI quotes the park as one package per guest: 3D2N: IDR 650,000 per foreign guest, IDR 350,000 per Indonesian guest; 4D3N: IDR 750,000 per foreign guest, IDR 350,000 per Indonesian guest. It bundles the government entrance ticket (IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor per day, PP 36/2024) with the ranger fee and local levies, and is paid on top of the boat price unless your quote says it is included.

Yes. Gandiva sails round trips that start and end in Labuan Bajo, and there is no Lombok crossing on her price list. The routes are 2D1N, 3D2N and 4D3N, all from the Labuan Bajo harbour. Need a one-way crossing? Ask, and we'll tell you straight if we can help.

Day 1 calls at Kelor, Manjarite and Kalong. Day 2 runs from Padar through Pink Beach and Komodo to Taka Makassar and Manta Point. Day 3 ends at Sebayur and Kanawa. The route is a sample, and the captain can change the order.

On the 3D2N route you land on Komodo Island and Padar, and you also see Pink Beach, Taka Makassar, Manta Point, Kelor, Manjarite, Kalong, Sebayur and Kanawa. Rinca joins only the 4D3N route. The captain sets the order by wind, tide and park rules, and mantas are never guaranteed.

The captain does, going by wind, tide and park rules on the day. The route on this site is a sample, and it can change with traffic, weather and tides.

Gandiva is set up for snorkelling: snorkelling gear is in the fare, and no diving equipment is listed on board. Manjarite, Taka Makassar and Manta Point are snorkel stops, done from the tender. If you are a certified diver, ask us before you plan around diving.

Gandiva carries 2 life rafts, 30 life jackets, 4 life buoys, 6 fire extinguishers and a first-aid kit. The boat's crew of 6 works with a GPS, SSB and VHF radio. The captain decides each day whether the sea allows sailing.

Under 3 a child sails free beside a parent or guardian; at 3 and over the child is charged in full. Four cabins take two guests each. Yudhistira has one double and two single beds for two to four, and its open-trip fare for a third and fourth guest is IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399) each.

Three meals a day come with the fare. Tell us at booking about any vegetarian, halal or allergy need, and the kitchen hears before the boat sails. Alcoholic drinks are not in the fare; ask us before you bring any on board.

Mention it when you book and bring your own medicine; we do not give medical advice. Cabin choice can help, and the note on calm sleep sets out what changes between the upper and the lower deck.

Gandiva carries 12 guests in 5 cabins, with a crew of 6 and a cruise director. A private charter gives you the boat to yourselves. On the open trip other parties take the other cabins, and we tell you how many are booked on your date when you ask.

Sunrise at Padar comes at 06:18 in July and at 05:31 in November, while the sun sets at Kalong at 17:57 and 18:01. The year's sunrise range is 05:31 to 06:18, and its sunset range 17:49 to 18:27.

Open trips run from 1 March to 31 December 2027. January and February 2027 are annual maintenance, so nothing sails then, on the open trip or privately.

The open trip is 3D2N and sails on Mondays and Fridays; the next sailing is Friday, 6 November 2026. A private charter can start on any date the boat is free. Send us your date and your guest count and we confirm in writing.

The captain decides each day by wind, tide and port rules, and weather is never guaranteed. If port rules close sailing, we tell you in writing and agree the next step with you under the booking terms. If Gandiva cannot sail at all, you get a replacement boat or a refund, transferred within 2 days (2×24 hours) once the conditions are met.

Nobody can promise that. Manta Point is a drift snorkel on the 3D2N and 4D3N routes, and the captain decides by the current on the day. The sea-by-month page marks the months when sightings are best, as a general pattern.

Arjuna, an upper-deck double facing the sea, with its own balcony and a freestanding bathtub under the windows. The balcony and the bath belong to Arjuna alone, which is why it sells first on the open trip. A seat costs IDR 11,500,000 (≈ USD 706) per person.

Either way works. On the open trip you book Arjuna for two while other guests take the other cabins, and the guide and the photo documentation come with the seat. A private charter gives you the whole boat at a price set by party size, with the guide and documentation added on request. Tell us which appeals and we'll price both.

Yes, as services on request. We write the quote first, and only then does anything join your booking: a cake, a decorated cabin or deck, or a dinner on the sand with lanterns in a circle. None of it is part of the fare, and none of it is free. Where a dinner can be set depends on the route, the weather and the captain.

Not on a private charter, where the guide and the photo and video work are extras, priced separately when you ask. Open-trip seats include the guide and the documentation. A photographer for your anniversary is a service we arrange on request, quoted in writing.

Only the 3D2N is sold by the single cabin as well as by the whole boat. It adds Manta Point, Sebayur and Kanawa to the Padar morning and the Kalong dusk. The 2D1N is a private charter with one night on board. The 4D3N is private too and adds Rinca and Gili Lawa Darat.

A foreign visitor pays IDR 250,000 a day. For Indonesian passport holders the ticket is IDR 50,000 midweek and IDR 75,000 on weekends and public holidays (PP 36/2024). On our quote the park appears as a package line for your trip type, which also carries the ranger and local levies.

No fare includes the park ticket. The park package for your trip type is quoted to you before payment. There is no cash machine in the park or on the islands. Take cash out in Labuan Bajo and keep small notes for tips, drinks and odds and ends.

Yes. The national park drone fee is outside the fare, and the permit is applied for before the trip. We arrange it on request, quoted in writing. Do not fly without it.

Tips aren't in the fare, and the amount is up to you; we suggest no figure. Bring them in cash, in small notes.

Personal expenses, crew tips and alcoholic drinks sit outside the fare. On the departure day a card terminal in Labuan Bajo can take the balance if you prefer, and it adds 3 percent. Cash is simpler for everything small.